An Excellent Catch

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 1st March 2019

Characters: K'ran, Saidrene
Description: K'ran runs a wingdrill for catching falling riders, and he lets one of those riders catch him.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 6 of Turn 9

K'ran

Saidrene

}:Are you paying attention?:{ Ashareth asked.

**Of course I am, my eyes have never left the Wingleader,** Saidrene
replied back, a bit of a wicked grin tipping at the corners of her
mouth.

Rapids Wing stood in a loose semi-circle on the practice field around
their Wingleader as he delivered instructions for that day's practice.

K'ran believed in keeping sharp for unexpected eventualities, and
Rapids hadn't practiced falling and catching since their move to River
Bluff. Some of the newer riders might not even have practiced since
weyrlinghood, and he didn't like that. Sure, most riders never actually
fell from their dragons in practice or Threadfall; that didn't mean they
shouldn't be
prepared to deal with it. In addition, he liked this drill idea
because it required trust and coordination with your wingmates, and if
the pairings intermixed Dolphin Cove and River Bluff riders with each
other, it would hopefully build cooperation.

He went over the basic outline with everyone. This would be rider drop
and catch practice only, not the dragons. Partners would be assigned,
and they would do two falls before rotating who was falling and
catching.

"Demonstrations first, so you remember what this looks like. Who wants
to volunteer?" he asked, looking over the crowd.

"I volunteer, Wingleader," Saidrene spoke up first, which wasn't
incredibly difficult since there had been a little groan from other
wing riders when K'ran had announced that they would be catching.

He exchanged a quiet word with his wingthird about keeping an eye on
the wing while he was up there and giving her discretion in adjusting
the assignments. They'd already talked over most of who they'd pair,
but if Jeyme saw people's reactions and wanted to change it up, he'd
trust her instincts.

Then K'ran walked over to Saidrene and nodded at her. "All right then,
Saidrene, mount up and let's go. We'll do this at high altitude so
there's more time for the catch. Not that I don't have faith being
able to catch you," he added with a smile and a clap to the shoulder.

About two seconds after he said it, his smile faltered slightly as he
remembered Rogueth catching Ashareth and how that could be taken, and
kicked himself internally.

"I trust you implicitly," she responded with a little grin. She'd been
in his hands, and arms, once before already and she had no doubts
about being there again, even if it was in a Wingdrill catch.

Saidrene pulled on her helmet and goggles as she walked to Ashareth's
side. }:Why did you volunteer? I don't like this.:{ the green said,
slightly uneasy at the thought of her rider plummeting through the
air. **I'll be attached with a safety cord, silly.** Saidrene
admonished as she buttoned up her riding jacket and climbed up to
Ashareth's neckridge. Once there she buckled herself in and then
clipped the safety line onto her harness.

K'ran waited until Saidrene started mounting her green, then climbed
up on Rogueth's neck and clipped himself to his own straps. He gave
the green pair the signal to take off. The bronze crouched low and
leapt to the sky, beaitng his wings to climb aloft to the high
altitude. It had been not been since River Bluff that they'd flown at
this level, and it felt satisfying to be there.

Rogueth paused at the middle of that flight level. }:Ashareth, go
higher,:{ he directed. }:Then tell us when your rider is falling and
we will catch her.:{

Ashareth climbed to a high altitude, enjoying the thrill of being up
above everyone else. She flared out her wings and steadied out to a
near hover to allow Saidrene to prepare for her fall.

**Why did I volunteer again?** Saidrene asked herself as she looked
down at how far below K'ran and Rogueth were. Then flashes of how
delightful her time with K'ran had been after Ashareth's flight came
flooding back. **Oh yeah, that's why.** Exhaling a slow breath,
Saidrene unbuckled the clips that kept her attached to her riding
saddle. Then she gave a tug on her safety line to make sure that it
was attached securely to her and to the riding straps.

**Here goes.** she told Ashareth.

}:My rider is on her way.:{ Ashareth informed Rogueth.

Swinging her leg over Ashareth's neckridge, Saidrene tucked her arms
and plummeted through the air, which whistled through the straps of
her riding helmet as she fell.

}:We are ready.:{ Rogueth says in return.

K'ran lifted his hand to his eyes to shade them from the sun, seeing
the green dragon steady herself, seeing a speck falling. Rogueth saw
it too, of course, and was moving as soon as he did to get into
position underneath the falling dragonrider. Two wingbeats to gain
more height, a surge forward to get to where she would be...

The bronze extended his neck out and K'ran reached out, grabbing for
Saidrene above him and catching her arm in one hand and getting the
other into her flight jacket, then bringing her against him.

The freefalling part had felt as if it would never end, even though
Saidrene knew logically that it had only been a matter of seconds, and
then she'd felt the tug on her arm and suddenly she was anchored
against K'ran's sturdy form. Ashareth flew close by, still anchored to
Saidrene through the safety rope. It felt rather nice, she admitted to
herself, being tucked so closely to K'ran.

}:We have your rider safe,:{ Rogueth told Ashareth when the catch was done.

"Are you all right?" K'ran asked Saidrene, raising his voice to be
ehard over the wind.

Saidrene gave him the hand gesture for 'all is well' so that she
wouldn't have to yell in return. If she could have said it without
being insubordinate, she would have said something along the lines of,
"Let's fly somewhere private!" but as it was she simply watched
Ashareth as the green flew in time with Rogueth until they reached the
ground.

K'ran nodded at the gesture and clipped an extra line to Saidrene's
belt for extra safety. When they reached the ground, he unclipped that
and relaxed his grip so Saidrene could get free.

"That was an excellent paired follow she did with Rogueth," he said.

"Thank you," Saidrene replied, there was a reason why they'd been
selected for the Weyrleader's Wing right out of graduation. The
greenrider slid free from Rogueth, hand trailing down K'ran's leg in
the process. When her booted feet touched the ground, Saidrene went
over to Ashareth and thumped her on the flank appreciatively before
disconnecting the safety rope.

A couple of the other wingriders had started shifting around their
dragons, anxious to get to their part of the drill. K'ran noted it and
thought that perhaps they were too eager and not paying sufficient
attention, so he had a bright idea.

}:How would your rider like to catch mine?:{ Rogueth asked Ashareth.

"Don't stow that yet. Actually, pass it over, if you don't mind,"
K'ran said to her. "I think there ought to be one more demonstration
for the wing."

Saidrene spun on her heel, ebony eyebrows arched as she extended the
rope to K'ran, "Another demonstration?"

"Yes. A Wingleader doesn't ask anyone to do something he won't do
himself, so if I'm asking all of you to fall, I should as well." He
took it from her and deliberately clipped it to his belt, then to
Rogueth. "Wingrider, if you'd please head up to the altitude I caught
you at, we can get started," he added as he mounted back up.

He was going to let _her_ catch _him_? Saidrene stared at him for only
a moment before turning and vaulting up to Ashareth's neckridge. **You
heard the Wingleader.** she said to her dragon. Ashareth leaped
upward, happy to be flying high once again.

Rogueth followed Ashareth up to the sky, enjoying soaring up next to
the green in tandem and watching her flight. The bronze was a little
nervous about letting his rider fall, but Ashareth had let her rider
fall and they had caught her, and so he could trust that she would so
the same for his rider. He hovered at the level the green chose for a
moment while K'ran checked Saidrene's readiness with a signal. Then he
flew up higher, still, until K'ran told him to stop.

The bronzerider looked over his dragon's shoulder, down towards the
ground and Ashareth below, to judge if there was enough space to fall
and if they were in the correct position. K'ran drew in a breath when
he realized how far up above the grounds of the Weyr they were. The
members of Rapids Wing assembled below were just dots on the ground to
his eyesight, and the Weyr itself looked more like its maps than a
real place. He hadn't flown at this altitude since he was River
Bluff's Weyrleader, overseeing a territory he was responsible for -
and one that no longer existed. This high up, the air was cold enough
his breath steamed and he felt a chill despite his warm flying gear.
The chill seemed to accentuate the sudden loneliness and sense of
displacement he felt.

}:Ashareth is in position,:{ Rogueth told him, interrupting his
thoughts. The bronze dragon felt the way his riders thoughts were
shading and how he wasn't paying attention to positioning, and he did
the check with the green for his rider.

**Okay, here we go,** K'ran said. He fumbled at his straps with his
wherhide gloves, unclipping all of the ones that kept him tethered to
Rogueth except for the long safety strap he'd borrowed from Saidrene.
**Hope it's well-checked...**

}:My rider falls,:{ the bronze told the green.

He took a deep breath, swung his legs over the side of Rogueth's neck,
took one last look at the ground so far below, and then pushed off to
fall spread-eagled into the sky.

Saidrene and Ashareth were poised and ready. The greenrider felt the
pressure of performing this catch correctly as she didn't want to
embarrass herself in front of the Wing, and especially not in front of
K'ran.

Ashareth moved easily through the air, cutting through the skies with
pinpoint accuracy as she followed the fall path of the bronzerider.
Saidrene held one arm out, braced and ready as her dragon moved them
into the right place.

"Gotcha!" she said, more to herself than anything, as she grabbed
K'ran's arm and pulled him down to Ashareth's neckridge. "I've got
you, Wingleader," she said in his ear.

}:We have your rider, Rogueth,:{ Ashareth informed the bronze.

}:Good,:{ the bronze said. }:I will follow your descent.:{

K'ran found he relished the sensation of free-fall, falling through
the sky with his arms spread to catch the wind as though he was flying
without a dragon. It should have been terrifying, and might have been
if he was falling because of a strap's breaking. But since he'd chosen
this, since there was a plan to catch him and also a contingency
waiting below, it was just exhilarating for a moment.

Ashareth and her rider seemed to come very close very suddenly and
then Saidrene's arms were reaching out to grab him and pull him
against her. He found himself shivering involuntarily at her breath
warm against his ear as she spoke, remembering the last time she'd
breathed his rank in his ear, and was suddenly very glad the cold wind
could explain his red face.

"Safe and sound," she murmured in his ear, when they were nearing the
ground, but still far enough away not to be noticed as anything
unusual by the rest of the Wing. Ashareth was quite proud of herself
as she rested her talons on the ground.

"It was an excellent catch. Thank you," he replied, shivering slightly.

"Any time," she said with double meaning.

As they landed safely, he separated from Saidrene and he slid down off
Ashareth, stopping to take a moment to pat the green's side and thank
her. He stepped in front of the assembled wing, and cleared his
throat.

"Now that you've seen Saidrene and I demonstrate, and quite
successfully," he said, stopping to flash the greenrider a smile,
"It's time for all of you to go. The wingthird should have given out
assignments. Pair up now. We'll take to the skies three pairs at a
time and practice..."

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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An Excellent Catch